How to fall in love with saving money

cathybird

Hey, I just realised this savings diary is six months old now! That's got to be a good enough reason to pass round the (virtual) chocolate hobnobs

focus888

Happy 6 months old!

I made it my aim to read through all the pages of the thread before posting. And i finally did it :j woohoo!! really enjoyed reading everyones post.

Well done on passing your test Cathy.

Small achievement for me today, i had a small change jar full of copper coins and it was almost full so i banked it in my account, it was over £8 in change. I had a odd £4 in my account so that has meant that I now can take out a nice even £10. Lil steps lol.

I also have been so strict with myself for bringing in lunches. Have not bought a work lunch this year so far and its almost April. Also have joined the No Spend Day challenge and been doing alot better than normal. This month has more events pop up which meant not likely to meet my monthly target, but any no spend day is better than none. x

JoJoC

Sorry to hear you're demotivated too Cathy. Hopefully we'll snap out of it soon!

Good idea about the hob nobs, although I wouldn't want to share round at all! Selfish, I know, but they are just too good!

Another £8 went into the £ tin today and it's starting to gain a little bit of weight. It'll be a LONG time before I open it, but it's still exciting because i haven't been keeping track of what's in it.

I've been really poorly today (although my son seems to be a bit better) so been feeling really sorry for myself. Not even had the energy to come on here!

Still really hopeful to hit the £2k target by the end of the month- that would definitely boost my motivation!!

What's everyone up to tonight? I'm still in my bed not well, so I can't see me doing much, other than going to lie on the couch when husband comes in.

lilysaves

Hi cathy

Quick hello so I can subscribe to your diary. Started reading today and decided to sign up to the forum and then to go back and read the rest. Hope the saving plans are going well and I'll be back when I've caught up!

Reading these diaries is really inspiring me to make some changes to my finances so I can save up and be prepared for the things I'm always scraping money up to pay!

Hope you're having a good evening

cathybird

focus888 wrote: »

Happy 6 months old!

I made it my aim to read through all the pages of the thread before posting. And i finally did it :j woohoo!! really enjoyed reading everyones post.

Well done on passing your test Cathy.

Small achievement for me today, i had a small change jar full of copper coins and it was almost full so i banked it in my account, it was over £8 in change. I had a odd £4 in my account so that has meant that I now can take out a nice even £10. Lil steps lol.

I also have been so strict with myself for bringing in lunches. Have not bought a work lunch this year so far and its almost April. Also have joined the No Spend Day challenge and been doing alot better than normal. This month has more events pop up which meant not likely to meet my monthly target, but any no spend day is better than none. x

hi focus888 and thanks I'm so glad you enjoyed reading through the diary

Well done on the copper coins. It's amazing how coins can add up round the house - I've found probably about four quids' worth since I started looking in October, though mainly because I had some knocking round in a jar for some reason. Taking lunch to work has saved me an absolute heap of money too Haven't thought about going in for the No Spend Days challenges though - maybe I should? ...

cathybird

JoJoC wrote: »

Sorry to hear you're demotivated too Cathy. Hopefully we'll snap out of it soon!

Good idea about the hob nobs, although I wouldn't want to share round at all! Selfish, I know, but they are just too good!

Another £8 went into the £ tin today and it's starting to gain a little bit of weight. It'll be a LONG time before I open it, but it's still exciting because i haven't been keeping track of what's in it.

I've been really poorly today (although my son seems to be a bit better) so been feeling really sorry for myself. Not even had the energy to come on here!

Still really hopeful to hit the £2k target by the end of the month- that would definitely boost my motivation!!

What's everyone up to tonight? I'm still in my bed not well, so I can't see me doing much, other than going to lie on the couch when husband comes in.

JoJoC, so sorry to hear you've been poorly - I hope you get better soon. (((((JoJoC)))))

I'm having a quiet evening too, got home from work, cooked a simple dinner, now spending a bit of time online before taking myself off to bed soon.

I was thinking about the demotivation and I think it's just that I've had other things on and been focused on those ... I still find myself thinking totally differently to the way I thought before I started the diary, so perhaps I've just got more used to "being in the saving mode" and it's not such a challenge, so not so exciting? Anyway, I still love coming on here and chatting to all the other MSEers

JoJoC, hope you have a good restful night and wake up feeling better tomorrow.

cathybird

lilysaves wrote: »

Hi cathy

Quick hello so I can subscribe to your diary. Started reading today and decided to sign up to the forum and then to go back and read the rest. Hope the saving plans are going well and I'll be back when I've caught up!

Reading these diaries is really inspiring me to make some changes to my finances so I can save up and be prepared for the things I'm always scraping money up to pay!

Hope you're having a good evening

hi lilysaves and welcome I hope you enjoy reading the thread.
I'm always really pleased at the thought that people might find the diary helpful. A lot of MSEers contributed tips at the start and I do think they're really useful.

I am having a good evening, thanks - quite quiet and I'm about to head off to bed I hope you're having a good evening too.

JoJoC

Thanks for the well wishes Cathy, I'm still feeling pretty ropey today but not as bad as yesterday so fingers crossed whatever this is, is on the way out!

I think you might be right about the motivation! I think my demotivation can come from a few places:

1. Not saving as regularly as I'd like to lose the momentum of excitement on topping up the savings.

2. Unexpected expenses knocking me off target/ spending more than I thought we would.

3. The guilt after spending money that I really didn't need to!

I console myself with the fact that I'm doing so much better than this time last year and that this change in attitude to money is going to be progressive.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll get my motivation back when I get to make a savings transfer this afternoon!

Welcome Lilysaves! Hopefully you'll find this thread useful as there's loads of great tips to be had!

focus888

cathybird wrote: »

h Haven't thought about going in for the No Spend Days challenges though - maybe I should? ...

You really should try it! It makes you think about how often you buy out of want instead ofnecessary. This has helped me saved loads the last 3 months. Basically halved my spends budget for randomness. :beer:

JoJoC hope you feel better soon. I love seeing my savings amount increase. I love the security that savings give you. x

JoJoC

Yep, it is a nice security blanket isn't it?

I'm joining the April grocery spend challenge and will do the NSD challenge once the new thread it set up.

I feel like I need to push myself more, particularly on the weeks that I'm not able to save much so I think NSDs are the way to go.